Former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, speaks during a speech at the 44th Far East Forum held at the FEBC headquarters in central Seoul, Friday. / Courtesy of FEBC-Korea

By Park Jin-hai

In his first major public appearance after retirement in June, former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn spoke to Christians about their role in society.

In a speech titled "Christians' Role within Society" given at the 44th Far East Forum held at FEBC headquarters in central Seoul, Friday, Hwang urged people with faith to walk out of their churches and become more involved with society. He also revealed his thoughts on his political agenda and a possible run for Seoul mayor.

"The country is in dire straits. With North Korea escalating its nuclear threats, many voice concern over a lack of coordination in international society in dealing with the North. People's alertness on communization and their views about the state are in question, while the open spread of homosexuality is something that requires immediate attention," he said.

Calling a clause prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation as a "poisonous clause," which was withdrawn in the Anti-discrimination Act introduced in 2007 due to the outrage from conservative Christian organizations, Hwang showed his strong opposition to homosexuality.

In order to undo those wrongs, he stressed the role of the Christian community. Saying that today Christians remain within the territory of the church, which blocks them from further deep involvement with society, he mentioned the Taean oil spill incident, the worst oil spill in Korean history, as an example.

"Many Christians in early 2008 rolled up their sleeves in the voluntary cleanup projects. After that, society's belief in Christianity jumped to 2.8 percent in the following year, from the previous 2.5 percent," he said. "The resources that have been invested in growing a church should be redirected to help marginalized people in our society."

Asked about the possibility of him joining the race for Seoul mayor, he did not directly respond to but said, "In the past 50 years, I've tried hard to live my life the way God guides me, and I'm sure he will show me the way on this matter as well."